Angels hope to stay hot against Phillies
Ray Montgomery hopes that as the weather continues to heat up, so will the bats of the Los Angeles Angels.
The second half of the season got off to a good start for the Angels on Friday, and they'll look to author another solid effort on Saturday when they continue their road series with the Philadelphia Phillies.
After closing the first half of the season by taking two of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Angels hit three home runs in Friday's 6-5 victory in Philadelphia.
Taylor Ward hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh, following earlier blasts by Jo Adell and Jorge Soler.
'I was just going to say that (Ward) needs to play in the humidity,' said Montgomery, the Angels' interim manager. 'The guy loves to play when it's warm. Again, three home runs tonight -- Soler, him and Jo keeps on doing it. That's kind of our MO. At any given time, any of our guys can do that.'
The Phillies also hit three home runs, including two by Bryce Harper. The two-time MVP had previously managed only one homer in 11 games since returning from the disabled list in late June.
'He looks great,' Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said. 'He's using the (whole) field and it looks like he's seeing the ball really well right now.'
Kyle Schwarber added a solo homer for Philadelphia, carrying over the momentum from Tuesday's All-Star Game, where the veteran designated hitter took home MVP honors after homering on all three of his swings during the game-deciding home run derby.
'He does amazing things,' Thomson said. 'After that All-Star Game and coming up and first swing he hits the ball out of the ballpark, everybody was like, 'That's Schwarbs!''
Schwarber and Harper will aim for more productive swings against left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (4-6, 3.11 ERA), who was selected to this week's All-Star Game but elected not to pitch in the contest. Kikuchi's most recent outing came last Saturday against the Diamondbacks, when he allowed three runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings to earn the victory.
Kikuchi has made one career start against Philadelphia -- in August 2023 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. He gave up one run and four hits in six innings but did not get a decision in the 2-1 victory.
The Phillies will turn to veteran righty Taijuan Walker (3-5, 3.55), who has nine starts and 11 relief appearances this season. He last pitched July 8 against the San Francisco Giants, when he started and yielded one run and two hits over four innings.
'I think it can be very difficult,' Thomson said about Walker going back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. 'I think it depends on the guy. I think it can be very difficult. In Walker's case, I think he's handled it very professionally. He's been a great team guy throughout this whole thing.'
All nine of Walker's previous appearances against the Angels have come as a starter. In those outings, he has posted a 5-3 record with a 5.06 ERA.
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